CM6331 as digital interface between PC and Amp or a HDMI-SPDIF/COAX converter?

[Amii]

Hi there,

I have a Marantz AV9000 and SR4300 that I use via the 9.5 stereo out from a couple of laptops.

I would like to go digital and have been considering the CM6331A, my primary desire is for good quality sound, as you can safely assume.

I have looked at HDMI-SPDIF, HDMI-COAX converters and USB DAC boxes. Is it safe to assume that the USB DAC, such as the CM6331A will give me better quality and a higher bitrate than converters?

Is this chip optimal for my installation? (I only use the AV9000 for THX with movies, normally I use the SR4300 on its own for music)

I will also be switching to coax/spdif between the SR4300 and AV9000)

Any ideas, corrections or suggestions?
Thanks for any help.

 

[robert1325]

Hi there,

Is it safe to assume that the USB DAC, such as the CM6331A will give me better quality and a higher bitrate than converters?

Hey, the CM6331A is a USB interface. It will give you USB to i2s/coax/toslink. Your Marantz receiver will have DACs already built into them and you could hook up a CM6331a card to your receiver's digital input (via coax or toslink) . I am using a card I got off ebay: CM6631A 24bit 192kHz USB to Coaxial Optical Fiber SPDIF I2S Converter DAC Board | eBay

This card works really well and sounds great with my dac for normal stereo sound. Not sure if it'll do all the Dolby digital formats. I use it for stereo without upsampling. It supports up to 192k.